Posted on 10/31/2002 6:31:15 PM PST by sjersey
Two legislators are asking the Bush administration to take a closer look at allegations that a Middle Eastern country, possibly Iraq, might have been involved in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
In recent weeks, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana, both Republicans, have relayed to the Bush administration allegations of Middle Eastern involvement in the bombing set forth by Jayna Davis, a former Oklahoma television reporter, and Larry Johnson, a former CIA officer and a deputy director of the State Department office of counterterrorism from 1989 to 1993.
In response, the FBI briefed Specter and Burton staffers last week on the investigation, sources said. A follow-up meeting is expected in the coming weeks to clarify some points, the sources added.
Davis, who was one of the first reporters on the spot of the bombing in 1995, has claimed for years that Hashem al-Hussaini, a former Iraqi soldier working in Oklahoma City, is "John Doe 2," the figure in the famous sketch of a dark-complexioned man released by the FBI the day after the bombing.
Johnson said he was "convinced that there was a Middle Eastern tie to the bombing," although not necessarily an Iraqi, and that there were "serious questions about the handling of the investigation."
The Clinton administration concluded that the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred Murrah building, which killed 95 people, was masterminded and carried out by extreme right-wing militants Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. McVeigh was executed last year and Nichols is serving a federal life sentence as he awaits trial on state murder chargeP>
"We conducted a very, very thorough investigation and we found no foreign connection," said Gary Johnson, a spokesman for the FBI's Oklahoma City field office. "We are convinced we got all the individuals involved in the bombing. End of story."
Most observers and several former officials, such as former Clinton White House terrorism expert Daniel Benjamin and Vincent Cannistraro, a former CIA counterterrorism chief, echoed those views.
In March, however, a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of some of the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing, seeking $1.5 billion in compensation, alleged that the plot was orchestrated and abetted by Iraq.
This summer, the Fox News channel interviewed Davis and Johnson and the Wall Street Journal published an opinion article detailing her allegations.
This prompted Burton, who chairs the House Committee on Government Reform, to consult experts on the issue. On October 2, he subpoenaed the secretary of the Navy to provide video and still camera shots of the building on the day of the bombing, according to Indiana media. Calls to his office seeking comments were not returned.
Two days later, Specter sent a letter to FBI director Robert Mueller in which he wrote that "in light of the attention these reports are now receiving, as well as the use of force resolution now pending in Congress [it was eventually passed on October 11], I would appreciate your comments on whether these allegations warrant further investigation."
Four decades ago, Specter, as a member of the Warren Commission, advanced the famous single-bullet theory, which purported to show how a lone gunman could have assassinated President John F. Kennedy.
Bill Reynolds, a spokesman for Specter, said the senator was intent on making sure there were no stones unturned.
Whether the requests would lead to further inquiries remains to be seen and will likely depend on the clarifications the bureau will provide, sources said.
Sources said Specter and Burton would like to know why Davis's evidence was never thoroughly examined by the FBI.
Critics say some of Davis's evidence smacks of what they called a "conspiracy theory" trying to link Iraq to a number of terrorist acts on American soil during the last decade, from the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 to the September 11 attacks.
A key promoter of such overarching theories is Laurie Mylroie, author of a book called "Study of Revenge: Saddam Hussein's Unfinished War Against America," in which she claimed Iraq was behind the first World Trade Center bombing.
"Everyone remembers that the day of the bombing, they thought it was something from the Middle East," Mylroie, who participated in the Oklahoma City bombing trial with one of McVeigh's attorneys, told the Forward. "And the next day, Clinton said it wasn't. How did he know? How could anyone know?"
Other prominent hawks on Iraq were cautious about linking Iraq and the Oklahoma City bombing.
When asked for his views, Richard Perle, chairman of the influential Defense Policy board, referred questions to Mylroie.
James Woolsey, director of the CIA from 1993 to 1995, told the Forward that while he did not know about Iraqi involvement, "it seems to me we should keep an open mind and investigate involvement from the Middle East — whether Iraq, Al Qaeda, Hezbollah or whatever."
Then we'd never hear anymore about it.
America's Fifth Column ... watch Steve Emerson/PBS documentary JIHAD! In America
New Link: Download 8 Mb zip file here (60 minute video)
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